Like many readers, I generally have a long (and ever growing) list of books that I want to read, and when I’m looking for a new book, I randomly pick from that. Just as often the next book is newly discovered and never even made it to the ‘backlist.’ It’s basically on a “whatever I feel like next” system. Most of the time, this method works for me. Sometimes it doesn’t. And it seems like the times it doesn’t work are the times I’m most likely to fall into the dreaded reading slump. Sometimes the choices are just too overwhelming!

I spent much of last year in a persistent reading slump (for a variety of reasons), but now that I’ve pulled myself out I’m looking for new ways to keep up the reading momentum while also directing my reading somewhat. I am trying to make conscious efforts to stretch my reading comfort zone and read many different types of books – including more Canadian authors. I decided that there is something to be said for a more structured reading list – as long as it still leaves space for spontaneous reading choices.

This summer I decided to play with the idea of a quarterly reading list. My first list may seem a bit ambitious (almost 30 books), but the intent isn’t that I have to read all of the books on the list. It’s not that kind of challenge. The idea is that it’s long enough that it should last the whole summer and it has enough variety built in that it should cover at least a jumping off point for any reading mood I may find myself in. And most importantly, I made sure that the rules (yes, I gave myself rules… don’t judge) allowed for as many spur of the moment books as I wanted. If one book on the list enticed me to read everything by that author, that was 100% okay. As long as I was reading, strictly following the list wasn’t important.

Confused yet? I’ll work on making the description a bit more succinct for next season, because midway through the summer I am declaring the list a success! I love the light structure and how the list keeps me reading a variety of books. I’m already planning the lists for Fall and Winter and I’m really excited to share them with you (both here and on my YouTube channel).

Check out the ‘official’ list (updated as read) here: Summer 2017 TBR and, if you prefer to watch BookTube videos, check out the video below. You can even do both if you’d like 🙂 Feel free to join me on my list, take suggestions from the list or use it as the inspiration to make your own list!